eat, drink, explore
The minute anyone hears "Pamplona" - the word, the name, the place - they tend to think immediately of the Running of the Bulls, a rather insane festival that was popularized and that attained near mythic status in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. When scheduling my trip to Europe, I didn't realize that my itinerary would... Continue Reading →
One of the great highlights, and one of the biggest tourist attractions, of Edinburgh in August is the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The Tattoo takes place at Edinburgh Castle and it's impossible to miss either the stands, towering above the city, or the fireworks that erupt every night upon the culmination of the show. The... Continue Reading →
Day Three We packed up and left the hostel, heading towards Harris. This was the less populated of the two islands and we were rewarded with narrow roads, stunning vistas and constantly changing weather. We briefly stopped in Tarbert, where we would take the ferry to Skye, and had some time to eat, poke around... Continue Reading →
Fair warning: be prepared for lots of pictures! Scotland is amazingly photogenic, and I took advantage of the scenery and the bits of sunny weather we had in order to go a bit insane with my camera. I was less than sunny the morning of the departure as I had made a grand mistake in... Continue Reading →
I tend to be attracted to things that are a little bit off the beaten path. I know that many people wouldn't consider Scotland to be the most exotic destination, but I wanted to take the chance to see more of the country than just the cities. Edinburgh is great - but isn't exploring the... Continue Reading →
While sharing my itinerary and chatting with other travellers, I was advised that I had scheduled too much time for Madrid. “It’s big,” people pointed out, “but not that great. There’s nothing to do.” I always find it strange when people say there’s nothing to do in a city – each city has residents and... Continue Reading →
One of the things I’ve discovered during my travels in Spain is that every city, and region, seems to be quite different. Free tapas were the name of the game in Granada, which is part of Andalusia… but Sevilla, the capital of Andalusia, operated with the pay-for-tapa scheme. I can’t say that this is why... Continue Reading →
One of my Porto visit goals, beyond the port wine cellars, was to head out into the Douro River Valley to visit a winery or two, taste some wine and take in the sights. The Douro is famous for its stunning landscapes and terraced vineyards that rise from the side of the river high into... Continue Reading →
One of my goals for visiting Porto was to see some of the port wine cellars located throughout the city. Or, to be accurate, what I thought was the city. Despite the name of the product – “port” – and the name of the city – “Porto” – the port wine cellars are actually on... Continue Reading →
The city of Porto, or Oporto if you’re British, is the second largest in Portugal and one of the oldest cities in Europe. The main, touristy area, however is quite small and easily walkable… if you like hills. This seems to be a common refrain in Portugal, so any future visitors should be prepared! The... Continue Reading →
